The Momentum Theory Loses...Well, Loses Momentum

• Mets 6-Phillies 3:

Jim Leyland and Tony La Russa, two men who combined probably know more in-the-trenches baseball than any duo currently breathing, have always believed that

momentum stops and starts with the performance of the next day's starting pitcher. No matter how disheartening a loss, if the next day's starter delivers a stellar performance or just keeps their team in the game, the previous night's game is forgotten. Fans would be amazed at how quickly a professional athlete puts a poor performance behind him once the next game starts; this Mets game was a case of them facing a pitcher in Brett Myers who is at a crossroads in his career; having their entire bullpen ready for action in situations familiar to them (Billy Wagner won't get booed for awhile at least); and getting a required performance from starter John Maine of seven innings and three runs allowed under a reasonable pitch total of 104.
For every self-styled expert who thinks he's got his fingers on the pulse of an athlete like Mike Francesa from The Mike and the Mad Dog radio show, and who treated the loss on Tuesday like an epic catastrophe, one would think they'd learn by now that momentum comes from performance. If a player is slumping that's one thing, but the game on Tuesday could also be seen as one in which the Mets dominated the Phillies, but didn't execute when necessary for tack-on runs and their bullpen gacked up a lead because they weren't mentally ready to replace their All Star closer even for one game.
As for the Phillies, they're going to have to come to a solution with Myers and quick. There's something not right. The minor league assignment hasn't fixed much of anything that

was wrong with him and either he's hurt or he was affected more by the sudden switch in roles to closer last season than anyone realizes. They traded for Joe Blanton ostensibly to replace Adam Eaton in the rotation, but Myers hasn't been any more reliable than Eaton; if Myers isn't hurt and Tom Gordon is out for a lengthy period, they may have to keep Eaton in the rotation and use Myers back in the bullpen. Myers was reluctant to move back into the rotation anyway and his problem may be nothing more than the drug-like adrenaline affects of pitching almost every day in games the team has to win. J.A. Happ acquitted himself well in his two starts replacing Myers and Kris Benson is still down in the minors (his numbers aren't good and I don't even know if he's healthy), so there are options if they have to move Myers to the bullpen and don't want Eaton in the rotation either. If Myers is physically healthy, then the Phillies have to find out what's going on with him because they're going to need him to perform in some capacity if they want to make the playoffs as a division winner or Wild Card.

• Brewers 3- Cardinals 0:

In a blog on June 10th discussing the potential for C.C. Sabathia to get the Johan Santana/Barry Zito-type contract he's going to want as a free agent at the end of this season, I mentioned that the big lefty might have to go on an Orel Hershiser-style run of shutouts and

lead his team (then the Cleveland Indians) to the playoffs and World Series to guarantee the paycheck----Pinning Their Financial Hopes On The One Desperate Lunatic; well he's starting to look like he is going on such a run only he's carrying the Brewers on his broad shoulders instead of the Indians.
Three straight complete games and last night's virtuoso performance bring back memories of Hershiser's unbelievable streak; the acquisition of Sabathia for the Brewers brings back memories of the Cubs acquisition of Rick Sutcliffe from the Indians in 1984 in which Sutcliffe went 16-1 to carry the Cubs to the playoffs. Sabathia is reveling in his situation as the "hired gun" as David Cone used to like to call himself, and at this rate, he's going to hypnotize an owner to give him the money he wants.
One note about the Cardinals: it's very interesting that manager Tony La Russa allowed struggling closer Jason Isringhausen to pitch two innings and throw 31 pitches. Is La Russa planning to possibly move Isringhausen into the starting rotation or make him part of a "pieced together" starter with Todd Wellemeyer and the (possibly) returning Chris Carpenter? He's been so bad in late innings, using him for three or four innings isn't a bad idea and La Russa's got the guts to make such a move in the latter portion of a season.

• Red Sox 6-Mariners 3; Reds 9-Padres 5:

I'm still waiting for someone to explain why the Seattle Mariners have been considered a poorly-constructed, leaderless and embarrassing laughingstock and both GM Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren have been fired and team CEO Howard Lincoln is under fire while the

Padres expectations were as high, if not higher, than that of the Mariners and there's not a similar righteous indignation at their humiliating performance this year. ESPN's Rob Neyer for example (with whom I agree and disagree on many things----I agreed most recently with the confusion regarding the Randy Wolf and Jon Rauch trades; and who, after my anger induced attack on him earlier this year, was a beyond-the-call nice and reasonable guy) is still referencing Paul DePodesta as a qualified baseball guy and I do not understand it. It's one thing to have a personal affinity for a guy as Neyer clearly does with DePodesta, but that shouldn't blind one to reality. I think Omar Minaya's a nice guy and a good baseball man, but I've criticized him when warranted. How is it that the Padres are not being raked over the coals as their performance, in many ways worse than that of the Mariners, is being glossed over and ignored for the travesty it's been?

• Speaking of embarrassing travesties, is this some MTV-teen reality show, or is it two of the most revered and canonized NFL franchises and one of the most beloved (especially by the media) players in its history?

So now the Brett Fav...ruh saga has descended into accusations and denials as to whether or not he used a "Packers-issued" cell phone to talk to the Minnesota Vikings about joining

them? These big, tough football guys are acting like members of the cast of The Real World instead of the cold, calculating military-style leaders and tough and oblivious to the elements performers they're portrayed as being by the NFL.
Those that are involved with the NFL in one capacity or another like gossiping as much as any teenage girl and this absurdity is to the point where it needs a resolution because all this is doing is bringing attention to a situation that is going to drag on until it's resolved and it's just going to get more and more silly.

The Ground Beneath His Feet ; More On Bavasi; My Thoughts On The DH; Schilling's HOF Prospects

• The last vestige of J.P. Ricciardi?

Some were dubious of the timing of John Gibbons's firing by Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi considering it came directly after still another personal back and forth between Ricciardi and a

player. It's a bit suspicious, but Ricciardi, as I said in an earlier blog, is like a baseball cockroach in that he has survived everything that's come his way throughout his tenure as Jays GM. Given the way the Blue Jays are playing, the firing may be the last vestige of a desperate man.
Cito Gaston has deserved another chance to manage since he was fired by the Blue Jays in 1997, but barring a sudden turnaround, this isn't going to end in a romantic, dramatic way; it looks more like a way

for Ricciardi to take one last desperate shot to save himself by ingratiating himself (however briefly) with fans who fondly remember Gaston's successful tenure, complete with two championships.
Ricciardi's other moves this year just haven't worked. Scott Rolen has been called a "gamer" and a "hard-nosed leader" among other things, but that doesn't change the fact that in over 200 plate appearances, he has three homers. Alex Rios had a career year last year and has done essentially nothing this year; Vernon Wells is starting to look like he

may go down as having the worst contract this side of Barry Zito; and Ricciardi's impulsive and anger-induced release of Frank Thomas left the team without any power at all. With their starting pitching and deep bullpen, they should be better than 35-40.
Amid all the controversy he's attracted and the continued, unnecessary and high-profile disagreements he's had with players, writers and whomever else dared cross him, Ricciardi's time may be coming to a merciful close. He's been on the job since late 2001 with very little to show for it other than a lot of bluster and a lot of newspaper coverage with much of it being negative for off-field issues. Unless Gaston can provide a miracle and get the Blue Jays to leap into contention within the next month, I would expect Ricciardi to be fired before the trading deadline. Desperation leads to ill-thought-out maneuvers and the Blue Jays don't need to let their loose cannon GM try to save himself with deals that are going to set the franchise even further back than it already is. Ricciardi has been paranoid, combative and self-pitying over the years and if the Blue Jays ever want to return to legitimate contention, they have to pull the plug on J.P. Ricciardi once and for all.

• A note on Bill Bavasi:

While providing a lukewarm defense of Bill Bavasi the other day, I completely forgot about one of his most egregious deals in which he sent Rafael Soriano to the Braves for Horacio Ramirez. While many ripped the deal in which he acquired Jose Vidro as the prime example

of Bavasi's ineptitude, at least he didn't give up anything to get Vidro. Trading a hard-throwing reliever with closer potential for a bad, injury-prone left-handed starter is justification for a firing in and of itself. Soriano hasn't been great for the Braves----he's been injured and prone to giving up homers----but if Bavasi was going to trade him, he absolutely could have gotten better personnel than Ramirez. It was just a stupid thing to do.

• The DH----to have or have not?

To the best of my recollection, I've never given my opinion about the DH other than when I suggested a dismantling of the American and National Leagues in favor of having teams like the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox; and Dodgers, Angels, Giants; etc. in the same divisions separated by time zones. While I disdain new "innovations" like pitch counts and overuse of

specialists, I think that the DH should be uniform in major league baseball. I've heard people say that the DH actually increases the manager's strategic responsibility because he can't lean on the crutch of removing the pitcher because his turn at bat came around; he has to decide whether or not to leave the pitcher in based on his merits on the mound.
While I understand the thought that pitchers hitting increases the "inside baseball" techniques of bunting, taking the extra base and deciding whether or not to remove the pitcher; and that the prevalence of pitchers throwing at hitters is increased because they don't have to bat themselves, I think these are negligible aspects of the game. Pitchers who are

continually throwing at opposing hitters and getting their own hitters drilled in retaliation aren't going to be very popular in their own clubhouse and that may be as much of a deterrent as the prospect of getting hit themselves. I'd much rather see a veteran hitter the ilk of Edgar Martinez or Paul Molitor get a chance to use his remaining skills at the plate than see John Maine strike out or watch Chien-Ming Wang run the bases and get hurt. The only time it's even remotely interesting when a pitcher bats is when he hits a home run or the opposing pitcher is throwing at him; other than that, who wants to see it? It's time to have the National League use the DH and, as Hank Steinbrenner says, join the 21st century.

• Curt Schilling----Hall of Famer or not?

There's great debate on whether or not Curt Schilling is a Hall of Famer. At first glance and in comparison to similar pitchers, it looks like a no. This has nothing to do with his

personality and big, flapping mouth because the nice things (charity and such) he's done throughout his career equal or outweigh the ridiculous things (ill-informed Republican rants;

smashing QuesTec) he's said and done.
A great comparison that Orestes Destrade came up with regarding Schilling is Orel Hershiser. Their numbers in the regular season and post-season are amazingly close and Hershiser was well-liked during his career saying few things controversial other than an occasional cringe-inducing reference to Jesus. At the top of their respective games, I think Hershiser was a slightly better pitcher. Schilling's also been mentioned with Don Drysdale in comparison, but Drysdale's career ended at age 32 because of injuries; he would have won at least 60-80

more games if he'd been healthy and would've been a no-brainer as a HOFer; Drysdale was probably a better pitcher than Curt Schilling as well.
I reserve the right to be convinced otherwise, but given Schilling's polarizing personality and the dicey nature of his candidacy, I don't think he's going to get in. He's undoubtedly going to blame his reputation and conflicts with writers for keeping him out, but even without that, the fact is that based on his numbers, he just doesn't cut it as a HOFer.